BurmaNet News: November 14, 2001 (r)

______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
November 14, 2001 Issue # 1919
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________
INSIDE BURMA _______
*AFP: Myanmar says forced labour probe a "delicate and subtle" issue
*Bangkok Post: Burma gets tough with graft
*Shan Herald Agency for News: First batch of the season arrives: Wa
relocations
MONEY _______
*AP: Thailand, Myanmar to join forces to boost rice price
*DVB: Businesses approved by dismissed generals express concerns
GUNS______
*AP: Myanmar official report confirms reappointment of key army post
*Kao Wao News Group: Split from the Cease-fire
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*AP: Myanmar army chief `too busy' to attend Thai king's birthday
*Arakan News Agency: Arakan Muslim Student among 13 foreign nationals
languishing in Panchagarh district jail in Bangladesh
EDITORIALS/OPINION/PROPAGANDA________
*NLD: Appointment and duties of Humanitarian Support Groups
OTHER______
*Correction to BurmaNet News: November 10, 2001
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
AFP: Myanmar says forced labour probe a "delicate and subtle" issue
GENEVA, Nov 14 (AFP) - Myanmar appealed on Wednesday to the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) to lift sanctions against it but
said it could not accept a permanent presence to monitor forced labour.
Myanmar's ambassador, Mya Than, said at the beginning of a debate on an
independent report on forced labour in the country commissioned by the
ILO that the authorities were "not in a position to receive a permanent
presence" of an ILO office in Yangon.
"As a first step Myanmar is willing to receive visits of an ILO team,"
Mya Than added.
"In such delicate and subtle issues it has to be done step-by-step," he
told delegates from governments, employers and labour organisations at
the ILO's governing body.
The report found that forced labour was continuing, especially in a
areas with a heavy military presence, and that legislation introduced by
the ruling military junta last year had had a limited practical impact.
Mya Than told the ILO that Myanmar had reservations on some unspecified
points in the report but overall he welcomed it as a "significant event
in our relationship".
He added that "the report is fairly balanced, it recognises the
political will to eradicate forced labour that has been expressed in
Myanmar," and called on the ILO "to review and lift measures" imposed on
Myanmar during its next assembly in June 2002.
The four independent experts on the team that prepared the report
presented to the governing body on Wednesday are advocating a permanent
ILO presence in Myanmar amongst their recommendations.
"In all areas for which the High Level Team had information it was
apparent that there was strong correlation between the presence of
military camps and the parctice of forced labour whether or not those
troops were engaged in military activities," the report said.
The team's three week ILO mission to the country followed the ILO's
unprecedented censure of Myanmar last year, when it threatened to impose
more sanctions on the country if it failed to curb forced labour.
___________________________________________________
Bangkok Post: Burma gets tough with graft
Thursday 15 November 2001
Rangoon has reacted to pressure from outside to clean up its house. Two
of seven senior members of the ruling junta sacked at the weekend are
thought to have been dismissed for corruption.
BY LARRY JAGAN (BBC World Service's regional editor for Asia and the
Pacific)
Burma appears to be going through its biggest government shake-up in
years. Two top generals have been sacked and five other ministers have
been retired _ only two of them voluntarily.
Diplomats in Rangoon say the country's governing State Peace and
Development Council brought the country's 12 regional commanders to the
capital on Saturday for discussions on the cabinet changes _ and
possibly to fill the vacated military and ministerial posts.
There have been constant reports of division within the army ever since
Burma's military leaders started reconciliation talks with the
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi more than a year ago.
On the face of it, the removal of the seven government members is the
most sweeping change in Burma since 1997 when the military junta changed
its name to the State Peace and Development Council and brought the
regional commanders into the political structure. But like most things
in Burma, it is difficult to interpret.
There is certainly no evidence of a power struggle at the top of the
military government. While sources in Rangoon believe that the head of
state, General Than Shwe, initiated the moves, there is no doubt that
the other two members of the country's ruling triumvirate, army chief
General Maung Aye and military intelligence chief Lieutenant-General
Khin Nyunt, fully supported it.
``The changes, in fact, show the unity and strength of the top three,''
said a Western diplomat based in Rangoon. ``They seem to have a tight
grip on the government.
Lieutenant-General Win Myint, secretary three and regarded as the
fourth-most powerful man in Burma, and Lieutenant-General Tin Hla, the
military affairs minister and a deputy prime minister, were almost
certainly fired because of their excessive involvement in economic
corruption. They are being confined to their homes and have been
questioned over their business dealings.
There is growing concern among Burma's top leaders that their Southeast
Asian neighbours are getting increasingly annoyed at the country's
growing problems of corruption.
At last week's Asean meeting in Brunei, several countries raised the
matter with Gen Than Shwe.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad is reported to have
complained about specific cases involving Malaysian business. Japanese
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi also is believed to have told the
Burmese leader that there must be more economic transparency if Japan,
and the international community, are to offer more financial assistance
and humanitarian aid in the near future.
``The Singaporean government has raised the issue of corruption and the
lack of transparency in the economy repeatedly in the past year or so,''
a Singaporean official said.
Lt-Gen Win Myint and Lt-Gen Tin Hla certainly seem to have been
dismissed because of their personal business connections with the
private sector. Both headed major government economic enterprises,
Myanmar Economic Holdings Company and the Myanmar Economic Corporation,
which many foreign businessmen have complained about in private.
``These two generals were sacked because their involvement in corruption
was too blatant,'' a Western diplomat said. But most analysts remain
sceptical that these sackings will have any real impact on corruption in
Burma.
The other sackings, however, appear to be more to do with government
plans to revitalise the country's administration and to root out the
hard-liners who may be opposed to the government's reconciliation
process with Ms Suu Kyi.
Several of the deposed ministers were known hard-liners. But it remains
difficult to see whether this change is going to make any difference to
the on-going talks. It will depend on who is appointed to replace them.
The two ousted generals will probably be replaced by regional
commanders, although it is possible that Lt-Gen Win Myint will not be
replaced at all.
Burma's third most-powerful leader, Lieutenant-General Tin U, the second
secretary who was killed in a helicopter crash in February this year,
has not been replaced. His tasks were simply shared between other
members of the ruling SPDC.
``It is possible that this will be repeated,'' said an Asian diplomat.
``If that happens then it will show the military leaders' commitment to
streamlining government administration.''
But many analysts believe the government will use the opportunity to
promote several regional commanders and bring them into the ruling
council. Ever since the talks started with Ms Suu Kyi, there have been
reports that many of the regional commanders were critical of the
process.
But there also are reports that the local commanders, especially in
sensitive border areas, are unhappy with the government's attempts to
stop the use of forced labour as guides, porters and to build military
installations _ a practice highlighted by the recent International
Labour Organisation investigative mission to Burma.
This government shake-up certainly provides Gen Than Shwe with the
opportunity to bring the most-resistant regional commanders to Rangoon
and sever their connection with their soldiers. This would help Rangoon
re-establish control over the regional commanders.
Diplomats in Rangoon also believe there may be more changes to come,
lower down the bureaucracy. But it is too early to tell whether all this
massive government shake-up is part of a larger strategy to prepare for
concrete talks with Ms Suu Kyi about power-sharing. Only when the
government announces the replacements for the deposed generals and
ministers will their intentions be any clearer.
___________________________________________________
Shan Herald Agency for News: First batch of the season arrives: Wa
relocations
November 14, 2001
As the year's monsoons drew to a close, the Wa have resumed the annual
resettlement program by bringing in nearly 400 compulsory emigrants to
Mongton township, opposite Chiangmai during the last week, reported a
source from the area.
The resettlers were unloaded between Hwa Aw, 21 miles from the Thai
border, and Poong-an, a village south of Hwe Aw.
"The locals were told to expect 2,000 families between 1 November and 5
May next year," he informed S.H.A.N..
Details of the arrivals are as follows:
3 November Male 47, Female 59 Total = 106
5 November Male 41, Female 56 Total = 97
7 November Male 75, Female 88 Total = 163
Grand total Male 163, Female 193 Total = 366
"Fourteen among them were age between 86-97," he said.
The 3 year relocation program that began in late 1999, is well on its
way to achieve its target figure, 50,000 households or approximately
250,000 people, according to one estimate. Another estimate however is
more conservative.
Year Township First Estimate Second Estimate
1999-2000 Monghsat 100,000 55,000
2000-2001 Mongton 50,000 35,000
2001 (Rainy season) Tachilek 15,000 15,000
Total in 3 townships 165,000 105,000
______________________MONEY________________________
AP: Thailand, Myanmar to join forces to boost rice price
November 14, 2001
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ Thailand and Myanmar have agreed to cooperate
in rice marketing in an effort to boost the price of the commodity, the
Thai Commerce Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
The decision was made at a meeting between Thai Commerce Minister
Adisai Bodharamik and his Myanmar counterpart Pyi Sone at this week's
World Trade Organization meeting in Doha, Qatar, the statement said.
It said Myanmar agreed that it will join a meeting with Thailand,
Vietnam and Pakistan in Bangkok early next year on tightening
cooperation among the four world's leading rice exporters.
Thailand is the world's top rice exporter.
Thailand and Vietnam have already agreed to cooperate to avoid
price-cutting.
Beyond cooperation on rice, Thailand also expects later this month to
sign a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar creating a special trade
facility, the statement said.
The recently-developed ``account trade'' facility is a form of barter
trade under which cash will be used only to cover differences in the
value of products.
Thailand has set up similar systems with Malaysia and the Philippines,
and this week signed a memorandum of understanding on account trading
with Papua New Guinea, the statement said.
Thailand expects the agreement to help increase Thai rice exports to
the South Pacific nation. Papua New Guinea, not a rice producer,
purchases around 500,000 tons of the commodity annually, most of it from
Australia, the statement said.
___________________________________________________
DVB: Businesses approved by dismissed generals express concerns
Text of report by Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) on 12 November
DVB has learned that businessmen who have business dealings with the
military leaders and those who are engaging in businesses with approval
from the top military echelon are worried about the stability of their
business ventures. Some businessmen engaging in businesses approved by
the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited [UMEHL], headed by Lt-Gen
Win Myint [dismissed former Secretary-3 of the State Peace and
Development Council, SPDC], were told to halt their business activities
for the moment. DVB correspondent Myint Maung Maung filed this report.
[Myint Maung Maung] Some entrepreneurs engaging in fisheries and
export-import business with approval from SPDC Secretary-3 Lt-Gen Win
Myint-led UMEHL were told to halt their operations.
A businessman from Kawthaung told DVB that those who received UMEHL
approval because of personal acquaintances with Lt-Gen Win Myint are
extremely worried about the stability and validity of their business
ventures. Similarly, the dismissal of Lt-Gen Tin Hla, who headed the
military-owned Myanmar Economic Corporation [MEC], has also caused great
anxiety among business people that are doing business with MEC approval.
At the same time, companies that have invested in the country with the
approval of SPDC's Myanmar Investment Commission [MIC] chaired by
Vice-Adm Maung Maung Khin are worried the removal of Vice-Adm Maung
Maung Khin could cause some changes and amendments in the MIC-approved
businesses. When Lt-Gen Tun Kyi [former trade minister] was dismissed,
12 businessmen from Kawthaung who had close links with him were summoned
to Rangoon for questioning. Businessmen from Kawthaung, who are friendly
with some dismissed generals, are also anticipating when they will be
called to Rangoon for questioning.
Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1430 gmt 12 Nov 01
_______________________GUNS________________________
AP: Myanmar official report confirms reappointment of key army post
November 14, 2001
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) Myanmar's ruling military gave the first official
sign Wednesday that it had filled a post left vacant after the sacking
of several senior officials last week.
A report in official newspapers said the regional army commander in
Myanmar's corner of the Golden Triangle had taken up the post of army
adjutant general, which was held by fourth-ranking general, Lt. Gen. Win
Myint, until he was dismissed Friday.
Maj. Gen. Thein Sein, commander of the Triangle region where the
borders of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand meet, is one of 10 regional army
commanders set to be promoted to lieutenant general and reassigned to
new positions at the Defense Ministry in Yangon in the shake-up, a
senior military officer told The Associated Press Tuesday.
It is the biggest overhaul of the regime's top ranks since November
1997, when the original junta, the State Law and Order Restoration
Council, or SLORC, was dissolved and renamed the State Peace and
Development Council, with younger officials drafted in to replace
corrupt and old military leaders.
The government has given no reasons for the changes.
The New Light of Myanmar referred Wednesday to Thein Sein's new
position when it reported him attending a track and field championship
on behalf of junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe.
His rank was unchanged but it usually takes several months for that to
be formalized.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has 12 regional commanders. The 10 being
shifted are all members of the elite 16-member SPDC.
While the commanders are likely to gain privileges, some observers said
they would lose power and autonomy, which would reassert the authority
of the regime's top three generals and expand the influence of the
Defense Ministry in Yangon.
At the weekend, official media announced that Win Myint, SPDC
Secretary-3, and deputy prime minister Lt. Gen. Tin Hla, who was also
minister for military affairs, had had their duties ``terminated.''
The blunt phrasing indicated they had fallen heavily out of favor. They
were both top executives at military-run conglomerates, which hold sway
in the corruption-ridden, struggling economy.
Additionally, two aging deputy prime ministers and
three other ministers were ``permitted to retire.''
___________________________________________________
Kao Wao News Group: Split from the Cease-fire
(Based from local correspondent & Independent Mon News Agency, November
10, 2001)
After the failure of negotiation, the New Mon State Party (NMSP) issued
a statement dated on October 31, 2001 denouncing a Mon guerrilla group,
led by Col. Pan Nyunt. The statement accused the group leader had
involved corruption and broke away from NMSP. Col. Pan Nyunt who is a
Central Committee member of the cease-fire NMSP and a senior officer of
the Strategic Command, Mon National Liberation Army responded that his
aim is to resume fighting against Burmese army for the benefit of Mon
people.
In an open letter sent to senior monks and civilian in Mon State, the
group leader claimed that there has been no improvement during 6 years
of cease-fire agreement between the NMSP and the Burmese military
junta. The Mon people are even denied their literature and culture
rights, and the regime has not interested to solve the political
problems as NMSP has expected. The group promised to fight against the
Burmese Army as human rights violation such as forced labour, land
confiscation continues in the areas.
The local correspondent said the Burmese Army have restricted against
the cease-fire NMSP gradually and deployed more troops close to
cease-fire zones to block the activities of NMSP and its arm faction,
Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA). The suppression has escalated and
NMSP itself is unable to protect abuses, and it resulted to split.
About 150 of Mon guerrilla with full arms and ammunitions split from
Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA) of NMSP, on September 9, 2001.
The DVB opposition radio, on November 7, has reported a fighting
occurred between the Burmese army and a guerrilla group near Leikkok
village in Ye township of Mon State. According to the radio, villagers
in the area said the guerrilla group included soldiers from a Mon
faction under Col. Pan Nyunt, which recently broke from the New Mon
State Party. The number of casualties was not known.
__________________________________________________
The Straits Times (Singapore): Web of terror
NOV 11, 2001 SUN
[Abridged]
The world sat up on Sept 11. But well before the attacks on the
United States, terrorists in Asia were busy spinning a web of ties with
cells in Sri Lanka, Kashmir, the Philippines, Afghanistan and beyond.
Based on reports from The Straits Times foreign bureaus, SHEFALI REKHI
traces the links
IN THE shadowy world in which they move, Asian terrorist groups have
been busy networking.
In the past few years, diverse cells of extremists from South Asia,
Malaysia and Indonesia have reached out to like-minded groups across
borders and set up ties to better move men, money and arms around, as
well as to provide training and share information on possible targets.
Intelligence, military and police sources and terrorism experts which
The Sunday Times spoke to in the wake of the Sept 11 attack on the US
point to several disturbing trends which accompany this growing terror
nexus:
While networking is far more intense in South Asia, growing linkages
are emerging in South-east Asia as well,
Terrorist attacks are now more lethal as extremist groups acquire
modern weapons and preachers of suicide bombing find more supporters,
and
Asian terrorist groups are seeing an increase in numbers. WORLDWIDE
LINKS
UNLIKE the Japanese Red Army, which at one time could count on only
20 to 30 hardcore members, the Philippines' Abu Sayyaf group is seeing
a rise in the number of recruits. It is believed to be 1,000-strong,
with half of its members owning firearms. Aside from local grievances,
poverty is fuelling the growth as it pushes young people with no hope
of meaningful employment into the ranks of terrorist rings.
Increasingly too, religion is being used by terrorist groups to win
supporters and justify their actions.
Long before Sept 11 turned the spotlight on Afghanistan, terrorist
groups in South Asia were busy building global links. Confessions of
those arrested in the past two years reveal that these extend beyond
the region.
For instance, the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM), based in Pakistan, has
a unit in Kashmir as well.
The HUM is also a member of Saudi-born terrorist Osama bin Laden's
network for jihad against the US and Israel, and has recruited from
Myanmar, the Philippines, Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan and Saudi
Arabia in recent years.
Consider, too, the LTTE. With headquarters in Sri Lanka, it is said
to have 30 offices worldwide, which qualifies it as the most networked
terrorist organisation in the world, said Professor Peter Chalk, a
terrorism expert from Australia's Queensland University.
Recently, officials in Colombo learnt that the Tamil Tigers had
established a naval base in Twante, an island off Myanmar, and had gone
into the narcotics trade as well.
The LTTE's move into Myanmar is a source of worry for US drug
enforcement authorities because 80 per cent of the heroin found in
America is said to originate from the country. In New Delhi, in 1999,
police arrested a Bangladeshi national, Sayed Abu Nasir, and charged
him with planning bomb attacks against US consulates in Chennai and
Calcutta.
Nasir was said to be a member of Lashkar-e-Toiba, which operates out
of Kashmir.
Three of his Indian associates were arrested in
Bangladesh but police are still on the lookout for his other
associates: four Egyptians, a Sudanese and a Myanmar national. New
Delhi's biggest concern remains the Pakistani connection of terrorist
groups in the Kashmir hotspot.
Among them, the one that has been in the news recently is the
Jaish-e-Mohammad, which claimed responsibility for the bombing of the
Srinagar Assembly building in early October that left 38 dead. Jaish
e-Mohammad was founded by Maulana Masood Azhar, one of the prisoners
released by Delhi in exchange for the passengers on an Indian Airlines
flight that was hijacked in December 1999. The hijacked plane was flown
to Kandahar in Afghanistan. The released prisoners were also flown
there for the exchange after the hijackers killed one passenger.
SUPPORT FOR HIT-MEN
IN AUGUST, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf banned two groups -
the Sipah-e-Mohammad Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, declaring them
terrorist organisations. He issued warnings to two others - the
Tehrik-e-Jafria Pakistan and Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP). But how
effective the crackdown is remains to be seen as these groups have
branches in other countries and have trained other militant outfits.
The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a large number of whose activists are wanted
in Pakistan on terrorism charges, has been operating from Afghanistan
for some time.
The group has a following of diehard supporters across Pakistan, and
intelligence sources say that while the sympathisers do not get
directly involved in sectarian attacks, they provide support for its
hit-men.
The militant groups in Pakistan are also fuelling sectarian violence
internally, feeding off social divisions based on the Sunni-Shi'ite
divide, caste and communal differences.
In both South and South-east Asia, the use of religion as a means of
recruitment and as a basis of cooperation among terrorist groups are
worrying trends.
Malaysian security officials say there is growing evidence that
Islamic groups have forged closer cross-border ties with Indonesian
militant groups.
Malaysian police attribute the connections to the influx of
Indonesian preachers into Malaysia in the early 1990s. Preachers such
as Abu Bakar and Riduan Isamuddin - also leaders of Indonesia's Majelis
Mujahidin - called for the setting up of Daulah Islamiah Nusantara, a
unified Islamic state across the region. Part One of this grand design
calls for Muslim brethren in the region to help the more Islamic
regions of Indonesia obtain independence.
Another religious connection that surfaced: Malaysian members of the
Kumpulan Mujahideen Malaysia (KMM) trained on two Indonesian islands
before linking up to join Indonesian Muslims to fight Christians in the
Maluku islands.
Moving farther afield, the Indonesian Mujahideen Council is believed
to have sent several of its members to Afghanistan and Libya for
training.
In Thailand, security forces are concerned about the emergence of a
new alliance called 'Bersatu', which means United, among secessionist
groups.
Its members include Pulo (Pattani United Liberation Organisation),
the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, the New Pulo and the Gerakan Mujahidin
Islam Pattani.
Colombo cops and military men have been in a tizzy since the
discovery in May that the LTTE's chief procurement officer Tharmalingam
Shammugan Kumaran had visited Afghanistan via Dubai and Karachi.
Apart from confirming their worst fears about substantive links
between LTTE and the Al-Qaeda, Osama's terror network, the visit raised
the possibility that the Tamil Tigers, infamous for their suicide
bombers, could be training al-Qaeda's people for suicidal missions.
Osama's links with the Tamil Tigers are just one strand of a web of
ties that the Al-Qaeda group has in Asia.
Besides training and aiding militant groups operating in Pakistan and
Kashmir, Al-Qaeda has ties too with the Assam-based terrorist force,
ULFA or the United Liberation Front of Assam, according to Indian
security forces.
Osama's ties with South-east Asia have not escaped US attention and,
last month, the US government announced that terrorists linked to him
operating in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines would be its next
target.
The most explicit connection seems to be in the Philippines, where
the Abu Sayyaf gang has reportedly received financial support from
Osama's brother-in-law Mohammad Jamal Khalifa. Mohammad Khalifa owns a
Manila-based furniture export company and authorities believe this was
used to channel funds to the Abu Sayyaf and other Muslim rebels in the
late 1980s and the mid-1990s. In Indonesia, the American authorities
have identified the Lashkar Jihad group as having ties with Osama.
In Malaysia, where the Kuala Lumpur airport was reportedly used as a
transit point by some of the suspects involved in the Sept 11 attacks,
investigations are underway to find out the extent of Al-Qaeda
infiltration.
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
AP: Myanmar army chief `too busy' to attend Thai king's birthday
November 14, 2001
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ Myanmar's army chief Gen. Maung Aye has turned
down an invitation to attend celebrations next month of the Thai king's
birthday, an aide to the Thai defense minister said Wednesday.
``Gen. Maung Aye and other senior Myanmar officials said they are too
busy with the internal affairs to visit Thailand on this day,'' Gen.
Sanan Kachornklam told The Associated Press.
Myanmar's military regime is undergoing it's biggest shake-up in four
years, after seven senior officials including the fourth-ranking general
were dismissed last week.
Sanan, an aide to Defense Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, said he
conveyed the invitation during a visit to Yangon this weekend to arrange
for a meeting of the Thai-Myanmar Cultural and Economic Association,
scheduled to be held in Yangon Nov. 30-Dec. 1.
``We arrived on the day that the hosts were making some changes in
their government,'' he said.
Thailand had been hopeful that in a mark of improving relations Myanmar
would accept the invitation to attend a trooping of the color on Dec. 2,
three days before the 74th birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the
world's longest reigning monarch.
Representatives of Southeast Asian countries' armed forces are invited
annually to the parade. Myanmar, also known as Burma, has not attended
for years.
Thai-Myanmar relations reached their lowest point in years when armies
of the two neighbors clashed briefly at their land border in February,
but have revived this year under the government of Thai Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra.
___________________________________________________
Arakan News Agency: Arakan Muslim Student among 13 foreign nationals
languishing in Panchagarh district jail in Bangladesh
12-11-2001
By Our Special Correspondent
Panchagarh (Bangladesh), Nov. 9: An Arakan Muslim student, Mohammad
Zubair, and 12 Indian nationals have been languishing in Panchgarah
district jail in Bangladesh though their terms of imprisonment have
already been expired.
These foreign nationals who were sentenced in varying terms of
imprisonment on charge of illegal intrusion and other offences have been
leading a sub-human life as there has been no allocation of food for
them as per prison rule for the fact that they are no longer men in
jail.
District jail sources said Bangladesh government cannot send them to
their homeland due to the complications of law, irresponsibility of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and negligence of foreign embassies.
According to the same source the Burmese and Indian embassies did not
respond to the letter sent by the jail authority to them for several
times. Most of the detained foreign nationals have been in jail for
about one year after the completion of their terms of imprisonment. The
foreign nationals in the prison in an interview with this correspondent
requested him to communicate with Human Rights Organisations to
intervene for their early sending to their homelands.
Abdur Rashid
Chief Reporter
Arakan News Agency
___________________________________________________
___________EDITORIALS/OPINION/PROPAGANDA__________
NLD: Appointment and duties of Humanitarian Support Groups
National League for Democracy
97/b West Shwegondaing Road
Bahan Township, Yangon.
Letter
number 021/ba ha/ see yone/01 dated 30/10/2001
To
All NLD State, Divisional and Township branches.
All NLD Departments.
All NLD Businesses and Enterprises.
Subject - Appointment and duties of Humanitarian Support Groups.
Foreword.
1. The duties of the Central Humanitarian Group needs to be expanded in
order that unity and solidarity in the NLD can be enhanced. Duties have
to be defined so that we can go beyond the stage of just supporting
imprisoned members to the stage of reaching out and assisting other
members appropriately.
2. (a) The president at every level shall be the leader in the selection
of Humanitarian Support workers. (Example) - Presidents of State,
Division and Township organizational committees will act as leaders of
their Humanitarian Support Group. (b) Composition of Humanitarian
Support Groups should not be limited to NLD members. Invitation to
sympathizers and supporters of the NLD should be extended. (c) To
start with there should be a minimum of five taking responsibility. The
number may be increased in time. (d) A secretary and a treasurer
should be selected in each group for proper coordination with the
leader of the group. (e) After proper review, members who had
previously served in Humanitarian Support Groups at all levels (State,
Division, Township) should be included or added as deemed fit. (f) A
report on the formation of the Humanitarian Support Groups in the
Central, State, Division and Township organizational committees must be
submitted to the Head Office. Henceforth all such groups will come under
the jurisdiction of the Central Humanitarian Support Committee.
3. Objectives
(a) To always keep in contact and support socially and humanely the
families of NLD and other political parties against whom legal action is
taken regardless of the reasons for such legal action. (b) To regularly
meet with and encourage those families and give medical and financial
aid in order that they can be rehabilitated. (c) To arrange and give
legal aid to those arrested and imprisoned. (d) To investigate
appropriately the special and urgent needs of those NLD members who
have special needs and are suffering great hardship and to give them
assistance.
4. Procedure to be followed.
(a) Within 24 hours of hearing of legal action taken against an NLD
member, the family should be contacted and inquiries should be made. (b)
Immediately notify the Central, State and Divisional Offices. (c)
Collect funds from willing donors.
(d) Such funds must be properly accounted for. The President of the
Humanitarian Support Group has ultimate responsibility. (e) The funds
should be appropriately used for the families of those detained. Where
financial support is not needed, a token gift to indicate support may be
given. Other needs for rehabilitation should also be met as far as
possible. (f) Assist the family to make contact with legal aid personnel
should there be need . (g) NLD members should always turn up in full
force at all court hearings and whenever the accused is brought out.
But remember to be orderly and disciplined. (h) Should the funds
collected be depleted, others should collectively assist the prisoner's
family medically and in other ways. (i) Monies from humanitarian funds
should be applied equitably for relief of family members of other
political parties as well. (j) Bereavements or celebrations on behalf of
NLD members and their families should be well attended and patronized.
(k) Refrain from actions (words or deeds) that will cause divisions or
disruptions within the families of members against whom legal action is
taken. (l) Once in three months, reports on humanitarian activities
taken at each level of the organization should be sent to the Central
Humanitarian Support Group.
Central Humanitarian Support Group.
1. U Tin U President
2. U Ohn Myint Vice President
3. Daw San San Member
4. Dr. Than Nyein "
5. Daw Le Le "
6 U Win Htein "
7. Daw Khin Aye "
8. U Aung Thein "
9. Daw Kyi Kyi Win " (Sanchaung)
10 Daw Kyi Kyi Win " (Kyimyindaing)
11 U Kyaw Aung "
12 U Tin Hlaing (Ee Ba) "
13. U Toe Po "
14 U Khin Maung Win "
15 U Saw Hlaing "
16 U Naing Naing "
17 U Kyo Laing "
18 U Thein Zan member
19 U Soe Win "
20 Daw Khin Than Hla "
21 U Hla Thein Secretary
21 U Thein Oo Joint Secretary
(Daw Aung San Suu Kyi)
General Secretary
Central Executive Committee
National League for Democracy
______________________OTHER______________________
Correction to BurmaNet News: November 10, 2001
The headline in the November 10, 2001 issue of BurmaNet identifying the
UN report on Burma incorrectly identified it as the work of Prof.
Pinheiro when it should have identified it's author as Special Envoy
Razali. Razali is the Special Envoy or Representative (of the
Secretary-General). Pinheiro is the Special Rapporteur (of the
Commission on Human Rights).
________________
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